Barnes and Noble 2008 Annual Report Download - page 9

The Company is continuing its controlled descent in
the number of its smaller format B. Dalton bookstores
in response to declining sales attributable primarily to
book superstore competition. Part of the Company’s
strategy has been to close underperforming stores,
which has resulted in the closing of 915 B. Dalton book-
stores since 1989.
The Company has a multi-channel marketing strategy
that deploys various merchandising programs and
promotional activities to drive traffi c to both its stores
and website. At the center of this program is Barnes &
Noble.com, which receives over 365 million visits annu-
ally, ranking it among the top 15 multi-channel retailer
websites in terms of traffi c, as measured by Comscore
Media Metrix. As a result of this reach, the Company
believes that its website provides signifi cant advertising
power which would be valued in the tens of millions of
dollars if such advertising were placed with third-party
websites with comparable reach. In this way, Barnes
& Noble.com serves as both the Company’s direct-to-
home delivery service and as an important broadcast
channel and advertising medium for the Barnes & Noble
brand. For example, the online store locator at Barnes &
Noble.com receives millions of customer visits each year
providing store hours, directions, information about
author events and other in-store activities. Additionally,
customers can view store availability for book, music
and video products through the website and reserve the
available items for pick-up at the store. The Company
fi rmly believes that its website is a key factor behind its
industry-leading comparable store sales performance.
The Company’s subsidiary Sterling Publishing is one
of the leading publishers of non-fi ction trade titles,
with more than 5,000 books in print. Founded in 1949,
Sterling publishes a wide range of non-fi ction and
illustrated books, consisting primarily of subjects such
as crafts, food and wine, mind / body / spirit, photog-
raphy, puzzles and games, current aff airs and children’s
books. Sterling also publishes books for a number of
brands, including many of the Hearst magazines such
as Good Housekeeping and Cosmopolitan, Hasbro, The
American Museum of Natural History and AARP.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
FISCAL YEAR 2008 2007 2006
Sales (in thousands) $ 5,121,804 5,286,674 5,139,618
Earnings From Continuing Operations (in thousands) $ 85,426 134,911 149,186
Diluted Earnings Per Common Share From Continuing Operations $ 1.49 2.01 2.16
Comparable Store Sales Increase (Decrease)
Barnes & Noble storesa (5.4)% 1.8% (0.3)%
Barnes & Noble.comb (1.3)% 13.4% (1.1)%
STORES OPENED
Barnes & Noble stores 35 31 32
B. Dalton stores — — —
Total 35 31 32
STORES CLOSED
Barnes & Noble stores 22 13 18
B. Dalton stores 33 13 20
Total 55 26 38
NUMBER OF STORES OPEN AT YEAR END
Barnes & Noble stores 726 713 695
B. Dalton stores 52 85 98
Total 778 798 793
SQUARE FEET OF SELLING SPACE AT YEAR END (in millions)
Barnes & Noble stores 18.7 18.2 17.5
B. Dalton stores 0.2 0.3 0.4
Total 18.9 18.5 17.9
a Comparable store sales increase (decrease) is calculated on a 52-week basis, and includes sales of stores that have been open at least 15 months
and does not include closed or relocated stores.
b Comparable online sales increase (decrease) is calculated by adjusting the prior year results to conform with the fi scal 2008 presentation.
8 Barnes & Noble, Inc. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS continued